The 18th BRICS summit was held in New Delhi on September 12–13, 2026, and concluded with the adoption of the "New Delhi Declaration." Beyond emphasizing economic cooperation among members, the summit addressed issues such as facilitating cross-border payments, increasing the use of local currencies in trade, infrastructure development, investment, food security, digital agriculture, and strengthening supply chains. For Afghanistan, the significance of these developments lies not in BRICS membership itself, but in the gradual shifting of trade, investment, and economic connectivity routes across the region.
Although Afghanistan is not a BRICS member, its geographic location—situated between Central Asia, South Asia, China, and Iran—positions it as a potential link in the region's emerging economic networks. The critical question is whether Afghanistan can leverage this geography to foster genuine trade, transit, and investment.
BRICS and the Changing Global Economic Architecture
In recent years, BRICS has evolved from a limited framework involving a few major emerging economies into a broader platform for economic cooperation. Its current membership includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
The New Delhi Declaration highlights the group's priority of reducing payment and trade barriers among member nations. Discussions regarding cross-border payments, the interoperability of payment systems, and trade settlement in local currencies—while not yet amounting to the creation of a fully alternative financial system—signal a concerted effort to reduce reliance on traditional international financial mechanisms. For Afghanistan, this development is significant because limited access to the international banking network is a major obstacle to the country's foreign trade. Consequently, any expansion of regional payment mechanisms could create long-term opportunities for trade with neighboring countries and major Asian economies—provided that Afghanistan can strengthen its banking standards, financial transparency, and risk management capabilities.
Regional Trade: Afghanistan’s Primary Opportunity
Afghanistan conducts a large portion of its foreign trade through neighboring countries. Recent World Bank data indicates that Iran, the UAE, China, and certain Central Asian nations play a pivotal role in supplying Afghanistan’s imports. At the same time, this dependency represents an opportunity, as it demonstrates that Afghanistan’s natural trade network is fundamentally regional.
However, the core challenge lies in weak exports and the low value-added nature of many exported goods. To tap into large regional markets, Afghanistan must move beyond being merely an exporter of raw materials. Processing fruit and dried nuts, minerals, saffron, agricultural produce, and light industrial goods could significantly boost export value.
In this context, cooperation with major BRICS economies must evolve beyond general agreements into concrete contracts between Afghan producers and foreign companies. Establishing processing, packaging, warehousing, and logistics centers within Afghanistan could serve as the first step.
Infrastructure: The Key to Turning Geography into Revenue
Afghanistan’s most significant potential advantage is its geographical location; yet, geography alone does not generate revenue. Transforming Afghanistan into a transit hub requires investment in railways, roads, energy systems, warehousing, customs facilities, and digital infrastructure. Projects such as rail corridors, the development of the Chabahar route, CASA-1000, and the TAPI pipeline could enhance Afghanistan's role in the regional economy if successfully completed and operationalized. For instance, the TAPI pipeline—designed to transport approximately 33 billion cubic meters of gas annually—could generate transit revenue for Afghanistan in addition to meeting a portion of its energy needs; however, the estimated annual revenue of around $400 million represents potential income following full operationalization, not current earnings.
Chabahar serves as another significant example. India’s long-term agreement to develop and operate the Shahid Beheshti Terminal demonstrates that this port could become a vital link connecting Afghanistan and Central Asia to global markets. Consequently, Afghanistan’s policy should focus on establishing effective connectivity between its domestic road and rail networks and regional port routes.
Investment and Natural Resources
Afghanistan possesses substantial mineral reserves; however, exploiting these resources will prove difficult without adequate infrastructure, investment security, a clear legal framework, and financial transparency.
In this regard, Afghanistan could draw upon the experiences of BRICS nations to attract investment for mining, energy, and infrastructure projects. Yet, the objective should not merely be attracting foreign capital; rather, agreements must facilitate technology transfer, job creation, domestic processing, and value-chain development.
The Aynak copper mine is a clear illustration of this necessity. Developing a major mine yields the greatest economic benefit for Afghanistan when associated activities—such as processing, technical services, and related industries—are established within the country.
Agriculture and Technology: A Lower-Cost Opportunity
Agriculture remains a cornerstone of Afghanistan's economy, yet the primary challenge in many instances is not simply production; Rather, the issue is the lack of adequate infrastructure for irrigation, storage, processing, packaging, and market access.
The BRICS summit's emphasis on food security, digital agriculture, and modern technologies offers valuable lessons for Afghanistan. Collaborating with nations experienced in irrigation, seeds, agricultural technology, cold storage, and food processing could help boost productivity and reduce waste.
In this regard, Afghanistan does not need to expected multi-billion-dollar projects. Small- and medium-scale investments in cold storage, packaging, fruit processing, value-added product manufacturing, and irrigation systems can yield faster results.
Constraints: Why don't opportunities materialize on their own?
Afghanistan’s greatest obstacle is not a lack of opportunities, but rather a lack of capacity to transform those opportunities into bankable investment projects.
Afghanistan’s banking system remains fragile, and banks’ access to international correspondent banking relationships remains limited. Consequently, foreign trade often relies on informal mechanisms, such as *hawala* (informal money transfer systems).
Furthermore, the absence of "ready-to-go" projects, a weak customs system, logistical challenges, political and economic risks, and a lack of transparent frameworks for foreign investment all drive up the cost of entry for investors.
Therefore, Afghanistan should not expect foreign investment to flow in simply by declaring an interest in cooperating with BRICS. First, the domestic environment must be prepared to attract capital.
What should be done?
Afghanistan could pursue a three-stage plan.
In the short term, it is essential to compile a select list of investment-ready projects in sectors such as energy, railways, mining, agriculture, and the digital economy. Each project must be backed by clear economic studies, a revenue model, a defined financial requirement, and a legal framework.
In the medium term, economic cooperation with India, China, Iran, Russia, the UAE, and Central Asian nations should be expanded based on specific projects. Leveraging Afghanistan’s position within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) where it has held observer status since 2012 could also help strengthen economic and transit-related dialogue.
In the long term, the goal should be to create an interconnected regional economy; An economy where Afghanistan is not merely a transit route for goods but also plays a role in processing, logistics services, energy, agriculture, and regional trade.
Conclusion
The recent BRICS summit does not offer Afghanistan an immediate opportunity for membership or direct financial funding; rather, it signals a shift in the economic landscape surrounding the country. Increased cooperation among emerging economies, the development of transit routes, greater use of regional payment mechanisms, and a focus on infrastructure and value chains could create new prospects for Afghanistan’s economy.
However, capitalizing on this opportunity requires a pragmatic approach. Instead of focusing on grand slogans, Afghanistan must define specific, bankable, and executable projects; diversify its economic ties; and leverage its geographical location to foster genuine trade and investment.
Ultimately, Afghanistan’s advantage lies not simply in being situated amidst several major regional markets; the true advantage emerges when this geographical position is translated into railways, ports, energy, trade, production, and domestic value addition. This is the lesson that recent BRICS developments hold for Afghanistan’s economy.
